Comparison of Lycasin versus sucrose sweets in demineralization studies of human enamel and hydroxylapatite.

Boiled sweets formulated with Lycasin were compared with conventional sugar-base sweets. Incubated in media containing solutions of the sweets, mixed cultures of oral microorganisms produced less polysaccharide and acid, with significantly less demineralizing action on dental enamel and hydroxylapatite, from the Lycasin than from the sugar-base products. In comparison with these differences, the effects of changing the flavouring acid combination in the sweets were minor, but levels of citric and malic acids as high as 1.00% showed some inhibition of the activity of the oral microorganisms.